So this one shot has been nagging me for a while, as this is how I hope the reunion will go down, or at something better I hope.
A little background, Hook managed to escape the Enchanted Forest before the curse struck, but Regina does not know that. He had some of the pixie dust that Tink used to help Regina find Robin, so he can find Emma.
Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think.
Regina stood at the edge of the balcony, watching over the land she once despised and wished she would never see again. She watched as that dreadful smoke crept over the land once more, taking away its residents one by one, and transporting them to a world she never thought she'd ever see again. A world where once lay her happy ending, a world where she found her pride and joy, a world that once gave her her little prince, a world that now held the one person she could never see again.
The sight of the smoke as it claimed the land brought her joy and a sense of victory once, it brought her the vengeance she had long wished for on Snow White and all of those who wronged her. The sight of it the second time around wasn't as much of a comfort, it was there to transport her back to a land where all of her pain and regrets lay. A land where she could never run or hide from her pain, a land without her son, her little prince. The sight of the smoke that time was a sign of pending doom, of the looming danger that was going to rip her away from the one thing she loved more than life itself.
And this time, the sigh of it didn't bring any better news with it. It was once again coming to claim the land and transport all of them to a world where happy endings were nothing but fairytales, and where the one thing she couldn't have existed. It was poetic justice to some people, and a daunting torture to her. For this time, she had no idea if she was going to maintain her memories.
She supposed that it might not be such a bad thing that she won't remember anything; she'll get a fresh start. No past, no blood, no torment, no Evil Queen moniker. She supposed that this way the aching pain in her chest will no longer exist, and she can start fresh. The pain that nearly destroyed her when she first came back to the Enchanted Forrest.
She had tried to numb it down, but everything around her seemed to be a constant reminder of the son she lost. She tried casting a spell to ease the pain, and it backfired by making her forget Henry even existed in the first place. But it wasn't the relief that one would have hoped for; for the spell only erased the memories from her head, and not her heart. Her heart kept battling her brain, a constant nagging feeling that she was missing something very important in her life. Said feeling would intensify around Roland, or any other little boy, until one day it finally broke through the block and the memories came crashing down on her.
The weight of the pain had made her buckle, and she fell to her knees and sobbed for hours in her chambers at her old childhood home. She had refused to go the castle she shared with Leopold, far too many painful memories resided there, and she didn't want to let them lead her back down the dark path.
She had tried her mother's trick of ripping out her own heart, to see if that will numb the pain, but that too failed. For ripping out your heart doesn't take away the things you already felt, but rather stops you from feeling anything more. She contemplated casting the spell once more, but then Henry's sad smile as he called her his mother before he crossed the town line one last time flashed before her eyes, and she found herself unable to betray her baby boy like that. For the pain after the spell broke wasn't just of the memories and the loss, but also the guilt and shame of how she forgot her own son. Granted that she hadn't meant to, but it made her doubt herself as a mother. It was only when Robin pointed out that the fact that she broke through the spell and remembered him makes her a great mother, did she start to forgive herself for that spell.
Robin, the one other thing that made the sight of the smoke bring her fear and pain, rather than comfort and joy. He was the unexpected surprise she encountered when she returned to the Enchanted Forrest. He was the only one who did not have any previously formed biased ideas about her, and decided to listen to her side of everything before he writes her off as the villain of the story.
He had listened to her as she rambled on for what was maybe hours about it all; Daniel, his death, her mother, her farce of a marriage to Leopold, how negligent he was, how lonely she felt, how magic was the only thing that numbed the pain, how her anger was the only thing that made her feel alive. She was surprised when he didn't belittle her suffering, or judged her, or even patronized her. He smiled when she told him that she can't regret any of the horrible things she did, because it brought her the one thing she could never wish to change, her son, her little prince.
He stood up to the dwarves and Charming when either would berate her, or make a snide comment of some sort about her. He pointed out that they all made some pretty bad choices in their lives, and had ended up on the dark side at some point in life, the only difference was that they had someone to pull them back, and not someone who dragged them even further towards the bottom.
And as much as she tried to fight and deny it, she was falling for him, and if she were to believe the look in his eyes, then he was falling for her too. He hadn't really voiced his affection, knowing that she was a flight risk, but he showed it to her. The way he caressed her cheeks as he wiped away at the streaming tears, the way he held her, how tight his arms would wrap around her, the soft kisses he feathered to her forehead on the rare occasion that she would allow him, and the affectionate ones to the top of her head, when she broke down into heaving sobs in his arms from the aching pain in her chest.
He fully understood how hard it was for her to loose Henry, for the mere thought that he might lose Roland scared him to no end. It was true that Snow lived for twenty eight years without her daughter, but at least she didn't even remember what she was missing.
He was standing next to her, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her slightly trembling body, her own arms engulfing Roland's small frame, as she tried desperately to prolong the inevitable doom. She didn't want to forget, she didn't want to lose yet another son, yet another love.
"I'm scared" Roland whimpered softly against her chest, and she closed her eyes in pain.
"Everything is going to be fine baby" she soothed, though her voice wasn't as steady as she hoped it would be.
She tore her eyes away from the approaching smoke, and finally met Robin's. She was slightly taken aback by the amount of love she saw in them, the amount of sorrow for they both knew that they probably won't end up together in the new world.
"I love you" she whispered, and his breath hitched. It was the first time she had ever said it to him, and it may be the last.
"I love you both" she added, as she tightened her arms around Roland, who buried his face in her neck even more.
"I love you too" Robin vowed, "more than life itself" he said sincerely, "please, don't ever forget that" he begged, but she didn't get a chance to promise him that she won't for it all went black.
When it cleared away once more, she found herself staring at the black and white forest wallpaper she had chose almost thirty years ago; she was back at her office. She immediately jumped up from her seat, and threw the door open. She found herself looking back at a very confused looking Aurora in modern day clothes.
"Is something wrong, Madame Mayor?" the confused secretary asked, and Regina internally growled, she didn't remember.
Somewhere on a beach in New York, a very exhausted looking Hook made his way down the sandy pathways, ignoring all the curious looks he got from the people around him. Distant chatter of the curious and nosey reached his ears, as well as the occasional prying from a braver observer, to which his only response would be a sneer.
He managed to make it to a hidden corner, and pulled out a vile from his coat and sprinkled it onto himself. He wasn't entirely sure how this would work, but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw a green glow illuminating the concrete road ahead of him. He looked around him and was glad when it seemed that no one but himself could see it, and so with one last deep breath, he started following the illuminated road.
Regina had barely put her car on park, before she threw open the car door tripping over her own feet as she scrambled out of her car, and ran towards her front door, her hand deep in her purse as she searched for her keys. She fumbled with them as she tried desperately to locate the right one, before she jammed it into the lock and opened her door. She ran inside, her eyes darting around the seemingly deserted house in search for any signs of life.
"Robin" she called, her voice echoing through the empty house, her chest tightening when she received no response.
"Roland" she tried again, desperation evident in her voice, only for the house to remain silent, with the exception of her the sound of her breath.
She took off into a jog towards her study, flinging the door open and freezing in her tracks when she laid eyes on her desk. The desk looked exactly the same as she had left it the last time she was in there, with the exception of one thing, one very important thing. A framed picture of her and Henry as a toddler on his birthday. It was one of her favorites, and she always loved looking at it. It was taken on his fourth birthday, he had his small arms wrapped so hard around her neck, and his lips pressed against her cheek in a bruising kiss. She had a genuine smile on her face, her eyes shining with joy as she hugged her little boy back. But now, it was nowhere to be found.
She sprinted towards a cupboard where she kept his baby albums, only for her to gasp when she opened it. Instead of the dozens of albums she had piled up over the years, she found novels. Her chest started to heave, as she opened one cupboard after the other, only for more books and novels to greet her.
She was starting to panic, she was starting to lose it. She who never once let anything or anyone scare her like that, was going mad. The house looked exactly the same, except it had no signs of her baby boy. Almost as if he never existed, the albums were gone, the dozens of paintings she had saved vanished.
She turned around, and almost hysterically ran for the stairs, her stilettoes clicking loudly against the hardwood floor. She was grateful that she was wearing pants and not a dress, for she ran the stairs two at a time. She couldn't walk up the stairs at a leisurely pace, not when she was desperate to get to the room that had been her baby's home for ten years.
She was still holding on to whatever shred of hope that the room would still be there, despite all evidence of the fact that this version of Storybrooke didn't involve Henry.
A sob escaped her, her hand flying to cover her mouth when she opened the door to the room. The room held her old painting supplies, that had found a new home in her basement once Henry came along. There was no sign of the blue comforter he loved so much, no sign of the numerous comic book characters that lined the shelves above his desk, the walls were painted beige and not the blue shade she chose for her son. The curse had obliterated the town once before, and when it created it again, it obliterated all signs of her son.
She fell to her knees as the sobs became wails that shook her body to its core. She had looked through town on her drive home, and no one seemed to notice that anything was amiss. They all went back to their old routines, as if her curse never broke. She wanted her baby back, she wanted to hold him, she wanted to feel his arms around her waist again, she wanted to have him bounce on her stomach as he woke her up, hell she didn't care if he was still mad at her, she just wanted to hear his voice and see his sweet face. It was hell for her in the Enchanted Forest as she tried to get through the pain, and now it was a thousand times worse. His room and pictures may have disappeared, but her memories of a not so distant past didn't. Every inch of the house reminded her of him, the coffee table that he used to pull himself up for the first time, the doorway where he ventured his first steps, the spot where they were had been sitting and playing with his toys when he called her 'mamma' for the first time. It was all there, but he wasn't, and this time there was no getting him back.
Why was she the only one who remembered it all? She had spotted many residents on her drive home, and they all seemed to have fallen back to their old routines, as if the town never seized to exist once before, as if the curse had never been broken. She saw Snow and David walking down the road, hand in hand and smiling as they greeted whomever came their way. She saw Granny and Ruby arguing outside the diner once more, Archie walking his dog. Hell, she even saw Mulan riding around in the sheriff's cruiser. She saw no signs of Roland or Robin, and it made her hold on to whatever hope she had left that they may be in the house.
But now she was in her house, and not only did it not contain any sign that her baby boy ever existed, it also showed signs that no one else lived there beside herself.
She pulled herself up by the doorframe, and dragged her feet towards her room, where she threw herself onto the bed, hugged a pillow to her chest, and continued to sob and gasp in pain. She wanted her baby boy, her little prince, she needed him.
The green glow finally ended, and Hook took a deep breath as he stared at the door. The building was a strange one, with many floors and a weird contraption like the one in the Storybrooke library that took him to the desired floor. Behind that door lived the woman who was once again needed to break the dark curse, and the son of the woman who had literally ripped her heart out in an effort to numb the pain of her loss.
He had witnessed Regina ripping her own heart out, it had took him by surprise and no matter how hard he tried to convince her to put it back, it was Robin who shoved it back in without her permission and convinced her not to do it again. It had amazed him that the loss hurt her so much, that she opted to take out the one organ that stopped her from becoming as cold as her mother once was, just so that the pain would stop. The once defiant and regal queen, the one who never showed any emotions, was never the same again. Her eyes were always filled with sadness and pain, her posture that of a defeated animal, her face showing nothing of the coldness and hardness he had once witnessed. The loss of her son was her undoing. It amazed him to no end that she could love this much, and it finally made him realize that Mila was never a good mother. He never saw that pain in her eyes, nor did he see the sadness in her features. She would sometimes speak fondly of her son, but never once did he hear the amount of love or sadness in her voice as he did in Regina's. It's true that she had claimed that maybe one day they can go back for him once they settle down, but she was with a pirate, they never settle down. Which means, that she was only saying that to rid herself of any guilt. What amazed him even more, was the fact that Regina continued to love her son unconditionally even after she found out that he was the grandson of her arch nemesis. It amazed him when he found out that she could've handed him over to Emma and preserved her curse, but that she refused to let go of her son. She even agreed to align herself with the ones who had been keeping her son away from her, just so that she could get him back.
He had no idea how he was going to convince Emma and Henry of the crazy story, but he had to try. The fate of everyone rested on him and Emma. He had to remind her, even if it mean his life. He knew it was going to be a difficult task, but he wasn't one to back down from a fight.
He took a final deep breath to calm his shaky nerves, and raised his good hand to knock on the door. He heard the shuffling of feet as someone approached the door, and his fingers immediately found his hook and he started to rub it nervously. He heard the clicking of metal, and then saw the doorknob turn. When the door opened, it wasn't the blonde who stood before him, but rather her son.
Henry's eyes widened once they landed on his hook, and his mouth fell open in shock.
"Hello Henry" he greeted softly, and this only added to the boy's confusion.
"Who is it Henry?" he heard Emma yell from somewhere inside the apartment, and Henry started to back away from the door, still gaping at him, his eyes now looking at him fearfully as he walked into the apartment and closed the door behind him.
He once more heard the shuffling of feet, which were followed by the sight of the blonde he hadn't seen in a year.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?" she shrieked incredulously, as she grabbed Henry and pushed him behind her, shielding him with her own body.
"I'm Killian Jones, but you will know my more colorful moniker, Captain Hook" he said, raising the appendage for her to see.
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she didn't back down, "well, Captain Hook, if you don't leave this instance you will get to know the not so colorful insides of a jail cell" she threatened.
"Why don't you listen to what I have to say first?" he suggested calmly, and she snorted.
"You are a piece of work" she remarked, as she backed away towards the phone.
"I may be, but I know where your parents are" he declared, and she froze.
She slowly turned towards him, and found him dangling a necklace with a pendant that she hadn't seen in a little over twelve years. It was the pendant on the key chain that Neal had given her before he ran off on her. She remembers throwing it into the river, and she couldn't understand how that stranger had it.
"Where did you get this?" she whispered.
"Neal gave it to me" he said, and she gulped.
"Who's Neal?" Henry asked curiously. Even though he knew not to talk to strangers, but his curiosity got the better of him. Not to mention that he had this weird feeling that he knew this man from somewhere, he just couldn't place it.
"Okay" she said after a long pause, "you've got my attention" she stated, her hand still stretched out in front of Henry, to keep him behind her.
"I know that what I am about to say will sound crazy, but hear me out till the end before you form any judgments" he pleaded, and something in his voice made her nod, against her will mind you.
Half an hour later, and after many many explanations that were frequently interrupted by Emma's snort of disbelief, she was now gaping at him and shaking her head at him. She knew she should call the cops and have admitted to the psych ward, but something was holding her back. Something was telling her that doing that was a very very bad idea, and that she should listen to him.
They were both too absorbed in what they were doing-her refusing to believe what he is telling her, and him trying to convince her even more- that neither had noticed that Henry had snuck to his room, and returned with a sketchpad in his hand.
"I know that this is hard to believe, and I understand that you don't want to let go of the beautiful memories in your head with your son. That the alternative is painful, but I promise you that all I'm saying is true. You gave him up, and he was adopted by the Evil Queen" he argued gently.
"Is this her?" Henry announced his presence, as he handed Hook the sketch.
Hook stared at the rough drawing of a woman who resembled Regina to great lengths; her short, dark hair; her dark brown eyes; down to the scar on her upper lip.
"Yes" Hook whispered in disbelief, while Emma's gaping eyes moved between the two.
"Is her name Regina?" he asked once more, and Emma gasped when Hook nodded.
"How did you know?" Hook asked, and Henry averted his gaze.
"I've been having these dreams for a while; she's always in them. Telling me how much she loved me, hugging me, kissing me" he explained, still not taking his eyes off the invisible pattern he was drawing in the carpet with his toes, "and in some of them, she would say that I was her baby boy" he added.
"The cure erased the memories from your brain, but it didn't take into account your heart" Hook said softly.
"Henry" Emma exclaimed, clearly hurt by the notion that her son was dreaming about being someone else's son.
"I'm sorry" he apologized, "I never understood them, and I tried to make them stop and go away, but I couldn't" he said hastily.
"You love her Henry, she's your mom" Hook assured him, "your heart was trying to make your brain remember"
"Stop with this nonsense this instance" Emma ordered darkly, "Henry is MY son, and I never gave him up" she yelled defiantly.
"Why did you name him Henry?" Hook asked suddenly, and Emma opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember-for the life of her-why she named him Henry.
"Exactly" Hook exclaimed triumphantly, "Regina named him Henry after her dead father, and she may have given you new memories but she didn't give him a new name" he finished.
"Mom" Henry called, and she slowly moved her gaze to find his pleading ones.
"Do you trust me?" he asked her softly, and she cocked her head to the side, "you know I do" she said lovingly.
"Then let's go with him"
They had been driving for a while, and now they were on a deserted road that seemingly led to nowhere. She was starting to lose her patience, and snap at the both her son and the stranger. She had decided to indulge her son and go with the stranger, but not before she packed her gun and made sure it was loaded. She and Henry had been having a bit of a bad patch lately, she felt like he was pulling away from her. So when he asked her if she trusted him, she couldn't say no and she couldn't deny his request, or he will think that she doesn't. Or worse, he may believe this man's allegations about his adoption.
"We're about to enter Storybrooke" Hook suddenly announced, and she looked at him incredulously. She couldn't see anything ahead of her, no welcome signs, no houses, not even a smoke coming from a chimney.
"Here we go" Hook exclaimed, and her eyes widened when suddenly she saw a sign that said, 'Welcome to Storybrooke' on her right.
"Where the hell did that come from?" she shrieked.
"The curse was designed to hide this town from the outside world so you can't see it until you cross the border. And if you're not meant to be here, you'll never cross to begin with" Hook explained, and she had to admit that his crazy story was starting to be proven to be correct.
She could now see the distant outline of a small town.
"MOM TURN HERE" Henry suddenly screamed, and she screeched as she made the sharp turn that he indicated.
"Where are we going?" she asked, as her son navigated the town seemingly effortlessly.
"Home" was the simple answer he gave her, as the white mansion that he had called home for ten years came into view.
"Stop there!" he cried, pointing towards the desired structure, as he climbed out of the back seat, over a grunting Hook-when his knees and elbows dug into the pirate's flesh-opened the door and jumped out before the door had come to a complete stop. From the second they stepped over the town line, images had flooded Henry's mind; of his childhood, of how he pushed Regina away, of her relieved face when she put his heart back into his chest, the serene look she had on her face as she sat by his bed on the Hook's ship in Neverland, and the heartbroken one she had as she said goodbye. He couldn't wait to feel her arms around him again, to have her scent fill his nostrils, have her fingers running in his hair, her soft voice assuring him that she will always be there, even when he was mean and horrible to her, she always hugged him, and assured him that she will be there for him always.
His heart leapt with joy when he saw her car parked, "MOM" he screamed to the top of his lungs, as he took off into a sprint towards the front door, his happiness increasing a tenfold when he found the front door to be unlocked.
"MOM" he called, as he ran around the first floor in search for her.
Regina was still lying on her bed, hugging the pillow close to her chest, her eyes closed as she tried to summon her son's scent, when the voice that she never thought she'd ever hear again reached her ears. Her eyes flew open, but she didn't move. Still afraid to believe what she's hearing, she must be hallucinating, surely she's just imagining it, her mind is playing tricks on her.
But then it bellowed again, this time from the first floor. Then again, and again, and it seemed to be getting more hysterical each time. He was looking for her, calling her.
She practically shot off the bed, and darted down the stairs. She froze on the last step, when he came running out of her study-where he must've been looking for her-and he too froze in his tracks. Their eyes locked, and she saw the tears quickly pooling into his eyes, as her chest heaved. Neither blinked, neither said a word, both afraid to end this beautiful dream.
It wasn't until his now tear-stained face broke into a wide, truly happy smile, did she finally allow herself to believe what she is seeing.
"Mommy" he whimpered, his voice small and innocent that it immediately took her back to countless nights of a scared toddler calling for her after a nightmare.
A tearful laugh escaped her lips, as she nodded at him. Neither had noticed the blonde and pirate standing in the doorway, watching the scene unfold.
Regina took the last step down, at the same time Henry broke off into a sprint and crashed into her open arms.
"Henry" she sobbed, as she buried her nose in his hair. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, as he buried his head into her chest. A pained sob escaped him at the sound of her voice, and he tightened his arms further around her waist.
Neither mother nor son had noticed the wave of bright, white light that had emanated from their hug, and washed over the town. The only one who noticed its effects right away was Emma, as the memories flooded her brain of the not so distant past. Her hand shot out to Hook, to steady herself. She could hear the distant echoes of people's exclaims of surprise, as they too regained their memories.
"Oh my God" she gasped softly, and Hook smiled sympathetically at her. She moved her wide-eyed gaze back to the still embracing mother and son, "how?" was the only thing she could get out.
"Strongest form of true love, that which forms between mother and child" he explained, as they both looked at the now happily laughing mother.
Regina had fallen to her knees, and used her hand to wipe away at the tears on her son's cheeks, all the while her eyes not leaving his for a second. The happiness, the peace, the love that she saw in them warmed her heart. It had been a very long time since he had looked at her like that. And the last time she saw him, she only saw raw pain and regret.
"You remembered" she whispered softly, and he nodded.
"I saw you in my dreams" he confessed, and she smiled as fresh tears stained her face, "holding me, telling me that you love me, telling me that I'm your little prince" he recounted, and a small sob escaped her lips at the last sentence.
"You'll always be my little prince" she vowed, cupping his cheek and moving her thumb over it lovingly.
His arms were on her shoulders, her fists tightly clenched around the fabric of her jacket, his eyes fixated on hers. She was exactly like he had seen in his dreams, the same as he left her standing alone on the town line before the smoke ripped her away.
"I missed you" he whispered, and she smiled sadly at him. She pulled him into her arms once more, one hand cradling his head, as the other one wrapped tightly around his body, "I missed you too baby" she choked out, her nose and mouth buried in his hair, as she took in his scent.
"Do you remember it all now?" he mumbled against her shoulder.
"I never forgot" she murmured.
Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, I will proof read it in the morning but for now, I hope you all enjoy.
You know what makes me happy :)